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Following a study by the University of Rochester into the health effects of certain plastics, particularly on pregnant women, Warwickshire businessman Peter Mueller-Meerkatz urges people to make sure the plastics they use do not contain the harmful phthalates.

These chemicals are used in many everyday items explains Peter such as shower curtains, vinyl floor tiles and plastic water cooler bottles. Everyone, and particularly pregnant women, should take care to limit their exposure as much as possible.

The research, reported in the International Journal of Andrology confirm that phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones and that the effect on unborn male babies can be particularly dramatic. Boys exposed to high doses whilst in the womb are less likely to engage in boys play when young.

Some phthalates mimic the female hormone oestrogen, leading to potential changes in the unborn babies physical and mental development. In this study, pregnant women were tested for levels of phthalates in the middle of their pregnancy and were then interviewed about their childs development up to the age of 7.

So, what can someone do to ensure that their exposure to phthalates is limited? Peter gives this advice. The use of certain phthalates is banned in toys and cosmetics in the EU but they are still used in certain packaging and other plastics materials. Our company manufactures water dispensers without plastic bottles, particularly because our customers in Germany are very conscious of health issues.

If anyone is still using old fashioned water coolers with bottles in England, they should immediately check with their supplier and ask for assurance that phthalate chemicals are not used in the manufacture of the bottles themselves. If you are at all unsure, it would be safer to revert to tapwater, or a dispenser that is plumbed into your mains supply.

Sources:

BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8361863.stm

University of Rochester - http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=2689